Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...yet I STILL plan to blackmail viz. or
something...
(A/N: Bad things happening to me right now... I saw my ex yesterday... with this little red head (totally fake red if you ask me) sitting on his lap. I was totally unprepared for this huge big fat green thing called the jealousy bug to come up and bite me! Argh! I hate that!
Anyways, like I said I've been busy (mostly trying to devise evil schemes to make ex jealous), but I've also been writing... while I should be revising for my mocks... oh well... I'll probably have to take a break soon, for a few weeks at most to do my exams and revision. Then I'll be back... until next April when I have to do the real exams and work twice as hard as I should be doing now. The only thing I think I'll pass will be English lit.... I'm doomed T_T)
Two Faced:
One Too Many Blonde Jokes
Kagome had been drifting in and out of consciousness for quite some time before she began to realise that she was in a bad situation. That pulled her fully awake amazingly quickly.
Pain was shooting up right leg and left arm... and the memory of the crash came flooding back, along with small flashes of smashing glass and metal... Sango screaming... Inuyasha being ripped from her side and that was all.
Kagome glanced above her and realised with a shock that she was looking at the forest floor... the entire roof of the plane had been ripped off like a tin of sardines and was now completely upside down. It was a great relief since she could get a little claustrophobic at times... but this meant she could escape.
She moved to unfasten her seatbelt with her left arm... but quickly realise it wasn't obeying. She took a look to see why... and wished she hadn't. It was literally hanging at a very odd angle from the shoulder, but it didn't look broken. It was dislocated. Kagome swallowed the pained cry in her throat and looked down at her foot. It was numb and trapped between the floor and the seat before her, which had been Sango's seat.
The fact that Sango wasn't there anymore was more alarming than the fact her foot was trapped. "S-Sa..." Kagome coughed, but it felt like her lungs were coated in tar... probably from inhaling too much smoke from the engines. It hurt to speak and her mouth was very dry, but she called out regardless. "Sango?" she croaked. "Inuyasha - Major Houshi?"
There was no answer, and as she looked around she could see that she was alone. Where had they all gone?
Kagome thought a moment about undoing her belt, but realised that would be a bad idea considering she'd fall with a dislocated arm and a sprained ankle. She might not even fall - she could be pinned to the plane wreck hanging only by her foot.
But she had to do something soon otherwise she would pass out again... the blood was rushing to her head from hanging upside down too long. She fought futilely to pull her foot loose for a few minutes before giving in to the edging darkness that surrounded her vision.
^_^
Inuyasha lifted his head the moment he came around and looked around in bewilderment. "I made it..."
He hadn't expected that... he'd expected to die beside Kagome. But here he was, sitting in a puddle of mud that had broken his fall, with all sorts of wreckage rubble lying here and there around him. The bulk of the plane lay a short distance away suspended above the ground in vines and branches of the tall ancient trees. It seemed to have been ripped in half, and a lot of the occupants were now lying, sprawled around the clearing underneath it.
They were all breathing, but were unconscious, probably not for too long though, they'd wake up soon. Inuyasha quickly scanned the body count... a few of them had fallen harder than others and were dead... he didn't expect the sharp pang of guilt that hit him. But where was Kagome?
Looking around he could see that she wasn't with any of the survivors in the mud, and she wasn't with the few dead... had she been thrown beyond the clearing. At once he jumped to his feet and absently plucked the metal shrapnel from his side as he started to look around more carefully. "Kagome? Kagome?!"
There was no answer, except for a few stirring groans from the unconscious crew. Miroku was one of the first to open his eyes as Inuyasha continued to hurry in search of Kagome. He raised one hand to his head to head to rub the bruise (caused by Sango, not the plane crash) and slanted a look at the other hand. One of the fingers were bent back at a very cringe worthy angle... definitely broken.
At once he looked around the mud to see Sango lying close beside him, looking half-asleep, though she was definitely conscious. The rest of his crew were also beginning to rise, including Kagome's body double, Kikyo. The two doctors were dead... and one of the airforce soldiers.
But the most important passenger was missing.
"Where's Miss Higurashi?" Miroku mumbled as he rose to his feet, ignoring his bruised and sprained limbs. He went to help Sango up who complied and slumped against him. He would normally have been delighted... but she seemed a little out of it, like maybe she had concussion.
"Kagome?!" Inuyasha yelled at the top of his lungs. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that he couldn't find her. He didn't even know if it was a good or bad thing that she could be dead. In one way he would be relieved... yet... guilty?
There was a low moan from the plane wreck and he could have slapped himself. Of course! She wouldn't have been thrown free yet if her belt hadn't snapped off like everybody else's had. He walked under the wreck and peered up. "Kagome...?"
Kagome lifted her chin and looked down. "Inu... Inuyasha?"
She was alive... remarkably he felt relieved... yet still guilty. He was betraying his cell still by failing. That was almost as bad as betraying her by killing her.
"Stop hanging around - we need to get moving." He folded his arms as Miroku joined his side.
"M-My foot's stuck... and my arm's dislocated..." she pointed out, her head pounding as blood roared through her ears.
"Undo your belt." Inuyasha told her.
"Then I'll break my ankle with my weight!"
"Like you don't already when you walk on it." Inuyasha scoffed.
"You're not helping!" Kagome snapped and threw the oxygen mask that was dangling by her side at him.
Inuyasha easily cocked his head to the side to avoid the blow. "Your aim's as lousy as your sense of style - which by the way - your skirt is falling up and I can see your stripy knickers."
"Jerk!" she quickly tucked her skirt back into place.
Miroku gave Inuyasha an annoyed nudge. "Man... if you hadn't told her she wouldn't have known!"
"Would you guys please just hurry and get me down?" Kagome called. "My head is killing me!"
"Ok..." Miroku called back up and looked around. "Um... ok... um..." finally he looked to Inuyasha. "How?"
"We climb up and get her." Inuyasha was still glowering at Kagome who had her eyes closed.
"But there's nothing to climb up." Miroku pointed out.
"How 'bout I toss you up there Houshi." Inuyasha frowned.
"Hey - you're her guard - how 'bout I toss you up!"
Inuyasha turned to him. "You don't have the strength to lift me."
"Oh yeah?" Miroku faced him as well. "Prove it."
"Guys!" Kagome yelled before they could get into the elephant discussion again. "Stop getting side-tracked!"
They pondered a bit more before Inuyasha hit upon an idea. "How do you get a one armed Kagome out of a tree...?"
"How?"
"You wave to her - she'll wave back and fall." Inuyasha laughed. "I always liked that blonde joke..."
He was suddenly pelted around the head by Kagome's shoe. "Ow!"
"Jerk! Go away and let Miroku get me down!"
"Fine!" Inuyasha stomped away and sat down stubbornly on a log to watch the other soldiers band together and commence an operation to extract her from the wreck. Sango and Kikyo stood off to the side nursing their own injuries. Inuyasha snorted at their attempts. Given thirty seconds he'd have Kagome out of there and on her feet before they could even blink. Served her right... now she'd have to suffer.
But maybe this was good. Maybe his cell would think he'd done well and killed Kagome along with everyone else, all he had to do was run away and leave them in the forest to perish. That way he'd only be killing them INdirectly.
He thought about it whilst glaring off into the trees. He was facing South... and since they were pretty close to the border like Mr Higurashi had been, there was a chance that they were only a day or so walk away from the border into the Southern Territory. The chances of these humans surviving that long were amazingly high.
But then there was always the pesky problems of the demons in this forest. The only kind that dwelled here were the ones who couldn't change their forms to match humans, so they could hide amongst the people in cities and towns. So a lot of the demons here were very likely to be big, dumb, and strong.
At times like this he was glad he'd brought his kendo sword along... but that was probably still inside the plane wreck beside Kagome. Maybe he should ask her to bring it down with her... but then again he didn't want another bruised ear.
He glanced up to see if she was down yet... nope. And someone seemed to be missing from the group. It took a moment for him to place who it was...
"Boo!"
"Ah!" Inuyasha started and shot to his feet to spin around on Kikyo. "Jesus..."
"I thought you were half a demon, Inuyasha." She said without a smile.
"Yeah well... I was thinking... and you were downwind." And unusually stealthy... he didn't like people who could sneak. It put him on edge - like right now. "Did you want something?"
"Mm... no..." Kikyo stepped a little closer, over the log. Inuyasha restrained himself from stepping backwards... his brother had always told him never to back down from anyone, especially not sneaky women. "Maybe I came to tell you something, seeing as we have a chance to talk... alone..."
Inuyasha glanced around. Yep, they were alone as alone could be while being with a lot of people in the middle of nowhere. "What about?"
Kikyo allowed herself to smile. "I saw what you did... how you... mysteriously disappeared only a few minutes before the engine blew... and quite calmly said 'we're crashing' when the brat got erratic."
He didn't like where this was heading. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that YOU were the one who sabotaged the flight... you wanted one of us to die... I'm guessing that would be Kagome." Kikyo's smiled didn't waver, but she wasn't smiling evilly.
"You're one of these people who just get so bored with life, aren't you? So you just start making up your own little side stories." He shook his head and smirked at her. "Sorry to disappoint but I'm more human than demon."
"It's ok. You only meant to blow one engine." She smiled wider, edging on evil now. "I blew the other one for you."
Inuyasha stopped dead. "You did what?"
"I know I risked other peoples lives..." she looked towards the rest of the group who were busy trying to pry the chair off Kagome's foot. "One of us has to do her in... she can't be allowed to live with her kind of power."
"You're crazy. Kagome doesn't have any power - she doesn't even want to kill demons!" Inuyasha snapped. Though he had to wonder why he was defending her. He hoped it was because he was trying to hide his own guilt. Kikyo could just be trying to trick him.
"What would you know? You've known her for the good part of a week - I've known her since we were six and her father spotted me walking down the street. He just HAD to hire me as a decoy for his little princess." Kikyo's eyes hardened as she watched Kagome. "Don't let her fool you... she's not as innocent as she puts out to be."
"Oh yeah?"
"She has power... she WILL have power..." she glanced back at Inuyasha. "She can't be allowed to live."
Inuyasha scowled at her a moment before turning his back on her and starting towards the plane wreck. He'd have to keep his eye on Kikyo. She wasn't a nice person after all, and he didn't want to have to join ranks with her. This was his own singular mission... and Kikyo was human. He didn't need or want her...
Or maybe he just didn't want to see her hurt Kagome.
He forced a mental laugh at his own joke... that he didn't find very funny... and it just got him more worried.
He heard Kagome's voice as he approached.
"Just cut it off! Please! Don't leave me here!"
The plane was starting to unbalance and a few of the vines were falling and severing here and there. It was going to fall and crush them all at any moment. No wonder Kagome was being explicit about them removing her foot.
"We don't have the equipment." Miroku told her, while Cadets Shippo and Rin supported her weight. He was heaving, trying to get the seat in front of her to move, but he was only causing her more pain, and the movement kept jarring her shoulder.
"It's alright, I have the equipment to do it." Inuyasha announced as he arrived underneath the fiasco.
Miroku looked uncertain. "I'm not sure she knows what she's saying."
"Yes I do! CUT MY FOOT OFF!" Kagome squirmed, here eyes tightly shut in pain. "I don't want to die!"
"Just get down, I'll cut her loose." Inuyasha told them.
"Not him..." Kagome groaned. "Anyone but him..."
Miroku and his group dropped down from the wreck and gestured him to go on. Kagome was silently pleading with her god and breathing deeply to prepare herself.
Inuyasha leapt up in one go and grabbed the upside down headrests to haul himself towards Kagome, the plane trembled and shook as he moved, jerking Kagome a little more who whimpered. He reached her side and clearly saw that little rivulets of blood were trickling from her foot towards her knee. He had to wonder if her foot wasn't crushed altogether. He literally had to swallow his guilt.
"You still alive?" he asked as he held on tightly to a metal barrack with one hand and reached up to examine the jam.
"No, I'm dead and you're talking to my corpse." Kagome said through clenched teeth.
"I thought so." He steadied himself. "Ok, this might hurt when I cut... ok?"
"I don't care - just do anything you have to do to get me loose!" Kagome was fitfully shaking her head from side to side.
"Ok... don't say I didn't warn you."
"Wait!" Kagome looked up. "Let's do this on the count of three..."
"Ok..."
Below the onlookers turned away, not really wanting to witness Inuyasha cut her foot off.
"Ok..." Kagome breathed in and prepared to tense. "One-"
Inuyasha suddenly ripped the entire front seat out that was pinning down her foot and threw it to the forest floor, making the audience scatter. Kagome screamed in pain and didn't dare move her injured limb.
But Inuyasha was ruthless as he sliced her belt off and grabbed her around the waist as she began to fall. Kagome had to bite her lip to stop from screaming, only causing it to bleed.
With that done, Inuyasha dropped to the ground and quickly carried Kagome a short distance from the wreck before lying her on the floor. "You still alive now?"
Kagome was stiff with pain until her eyes snapped open and fixed on him. She still had enough strength to give him a sound cuff around the ear with her good arm. "You GIT! I SAID ON THE COUNT OF THREE!!"
"If I'd done that you would have tense and it would have been more painful!" Inuyasha growled back, defending himself.
"That hurt!" she gave him another cuff, but he ducked the second time. "I'll kill you!"
"At least I didn't cut your foot off! Be thankful, you ungrateful bitch!" he snapped at her.
Kagome quieted. "Ok... yeah... thanks... I guess..."
"Jeez, don't force it." He eyed her twisted arm and frowned. "You want me to fix that?"
"I can do it myself." She said snippily, still unable to move.
"You won't be strong enough." Inuyasha offered. "I can do it fast."
Kagome was silent as she considered this for a moment. "Fine..." she finally gave in.
Without much warning again he simply smacked her upper arm against the shoulder joint and heard it pop. For a moment Kagome said nothing... until her incredible scream sent a flock of nearby crows into flight.
A little while later, Inuyasha was distinctly avoiding the peeved Kagome, especially since he discovered she could deliver fairly smarting slaps.
He was sitting on the log, watching everyone else organise themselves by fetching packs and supplies from the plane wreck and dealing with the three dead men. After a while the remains of the plane creaked and tumbled to the floor upside down, and surely would have completely crushed Kagome had she still been inside.
Once again Kikyo passed him and paused a moment to speak. "Anyone would have thought you were deliberately trying to make it more painful for her..."
He glared at her retreating back and turned his gaze back to the others. Kagome was having her foot bandaged and already had her arm in a sling while Miroku dealt with his own hand.
It made Inuyasha feel slightly guilty that he was the cause... but he couldn't bring himself to help. In every respect her should sabotage their supplies and leave them to die... but he knew that he wouldn't get round to doing it.
With a groan he rubbed his hands over his eyes. What a predicament he'd worked himself into. now he had to find a way to work himself out of this big pit he'd dug.
(A/N: Next Chapter - 'Peer Pressure'.)
(A/N: Bad things happening to me right now... I saw my ex yesterday... with this little red head (totally fake red if you ask me) sitting on his lap. I was totally unprepared for this huge big fat green thing called the jealousy bug to come up and bite me! Argh! I hate that!
Anyways, like I said I've been busy (mostly trying to devise evil schemes to make ex jealous), but I've also been writing... while I should be revising for my mocks... oh well... I'll probably have to take a break soon, for a few weeks at most to do my exams and revision. Then I'll be back... until next April when I have to do the real exams and work twice as hard as I should be doing now. The only thing I think I'll pass will be English lit.... I'm doomed T_T)
Two Faced:
One Too Many Blonde Jokes
Kagome had been drifting in and out of consciousness for quite some time before she began to realise that she was in a bad situation. That pulled her fully awake amazingly quickly.
Pain was shooting up right leg and left arm... and the memory of the crash came flooding back, along with small flashes of smashing glass and metal... Sango screaming... Inuyasha being ripped from her side and that was all.
Kagome glanced above her and realised with a shock that she was looking at the forest floor... the entire roof of the plane had been ripped off like a tin of sardines and was now completely upside down. It was a great relief since she could get a little claustrophobic at times... but this meant she could escape.
She moved to unfasten her seatbelt with her left arm... but quickly realise it wasn't obeying. She took a look to see why... and wished she hadn't. It was literally hanging at a very odd angle from the shoulder, but it didn't look broken. It was dislocated. Kagome swallowed the pained cry in her throat and looked down at her foot. It was numb and trapped between the floor and the seat before her, which had been Sango's seat.
The fact that Sango wasn't there anymore was more alarming than the fact her foot was trapped. "S-Sa..." Kagome coughed, but it felt like her lungs were coated in tar... probably from inhaling too much smoke from the engines. It hurt to speak and her mouth was very dry, but she called out regardless. "Sango?" she croaked. "Inuyasha - Major Houshi?"
There was no answer, and as she looked around she could see that she was alone. Where had they all gone?
Kagome thought a moment about undoing her belt, but realised that would be a bad idea considering she'd fall with a dislocated arm and a sprained ankle. She might not even fall - she could be pinned to the plane wreck hanging only by her foot.
But she had to do something soon otherwise she would pass out again... the blood was rushing to her head from hanging upside down too long. She fought futilely to pull her foot loose for a few minutes before giving in to the edging darkness that surrounded her vision.
^_^
Inuyasha lifted his head the moment he came around and looked around in bewilderment. "I made it..."
He hadn't expected that... he'd expected to die beside Kagome. But here he was, sitting in a puddle of mud that had broken his fall, with all sorts of wreckage rubble lying here and there around him. The bulk of the plane lay a short distance away suspended above the ground in vines and branches of the tall ancient trees. It seemed to have been ripped in half, and a lot of the occupants were now lying, sprawled around the clearing underneath it.
They were all breathing, but were unconscious, probably not for too long though, they'd wake up soon. Inuyasha quickly scanned the body count... a few of them had fallen harder than others and were dead... he didn't expect the sharp pang of guilt that hit him. But where was Kagome?
Looking around he could see that she wasn't with any of the survivors in the mud, and she wasn't with the few dead... had she been thrown beyond the clearing. At once he jumped to his feet and absently plucked the metal shrapnel from his side as he started to look around more carefully. "Kagome? Kagome?!"
There was no answer, except for a few stirring groans from the unconscious crew. Miroku was one of the first to open his eyes as Inuyasha continued to hurry in search of Kagome. He raised one hand to his head to head to rub the bruise (caused by Sango, not the plane crash) and slanted a look at the other hand. One of the fingers were bent back at a very cringe worthy angle... definitely broken.
At once he looked around the mud to see Sango lying close beside him, looking half-asleep, though she was definitely conscious. The rest of his crew were also beginning to rise, including Kagome's body double, Kikyo. The two doctors were dead... and one of the airforce soldiers.
But the most important passenger was missing.
"Where's Miss Higurashi?" Miroku mumbled as he rose to his feet, ignoring his bruised and sprained limbs. He went to help Sango up who complied and slumped against him. He would normally have been delighted... but she seemed a little out of it, like maybe she had concussion.
"Kagome?!" Inuyasha yelled at the top of his lungs. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that he couldn't find her. He didn't even know if it was a good or bad thing that she could be dead. In one way he would be relieved... yet... guilty?
There was a low moan from the plane wreck and he could have slapped himself. Of course! She wouldn't have been thrown free yet if her belt hadn't snapped off like everybody else's had. He walked under the wreck and peered up. "Kagome...?"
Kagome lifted her chin and looked down. "Inu... Inuyasha?"
She was alive... remarkably he felt relieved... yet still guilty. He was betraying his cell still by failing. That was almost as bad as betraying her by killing her.
"Stop hanging around - we need to get moving." He folded his arms as Miroku joined his side.
"M-My foot's stuck... and my arm's dislocated..." she pointed out, her head pounding as blood roared through her ears.
"Undo your belt." Inuyasha told her.
"Then I'll break my ankle with my weight!"
"Like you don't already when you walk on it." Inuyasha scoffed.
"You're not helping!" Kagome snapped and threw the oxygen mask that was dangling by her side at him.
Inuyasha easily cocked his head to the side to avoid the blow. "Your aim's as lousy as your sense of style - which by the way - your skirt is falling up and I can see your stripy knickers."
"Jerk!" she quickly tucked her skirt back into place.
Miroku gave Inuyasha an annoyed nudge. "Man... if you hadn't told her she wouldn't have known!"
"Would you guys please just hurry and get me down?" Kagome called. "My head is killing me!"
"Ok..." Miroku called back up and looked around. "Um... ok... um..." finally he looked to Inuyasha. "How?"
"We climb up and get her." Inuyasha was still glowering at Kagome who had her eyes closed.
"But there's nothing to climb up." Miroku pointed out.
"How 'bout I toss you up there Houshi." Inuyasha frowned.
"Hey - you're her guard - how 'bout I toss you up!"
Inuyasha turned to him. "You don't have the strength to lift me."
"Oh yeah?" Miroku faced him as well. "Prove it."
"Guys!" Kagome yelled before they could get into the elephant discussion again. "Stop getting side-tracked!"
They pondered a bit more before Inuyasha hit upon an idea. "How do you get a one armed Kagome out of a tree...?"
"How?"
"You wave to her - she'll wave back and fall." Inuyasha laughed. "I always liked that blonde joke..."
He was suddenly pelted around the head by Kagome's shoe. "Ow!"
"Jerk! Go away and let Miroku get me down!"
"Fine!" Inuyasha stomped away and sat down stubbornly on a log to watch the other soldiers band together and commence an operation to extract her from the wreck. Sango and Kikyo stood off to the side nursing their own injuries. Inuyasha snorted at their attempts. Given thirty seconds he'd have Kagome out of there and on her feet before they could even blink. Served her right... now she'd have to suffer.
But maybe this was good. Maybe his cell would think he'd done well and killed Kagome along with everyone else, all he had to do was run away and leave them in the forest to perish. That way he'd only be killing them INdirectly.
He thought about it whilst glaring off into the trees. He was facing South... and since they were pretty close to the border like Mr Higurashi had been, there was a chance that they were only a day or so walk away from the border into the Southern Territory. The chances of these humans surviving that long were amazingly high.
But then there was always the pesky problems of the demons in this forest. The only kind that dwelled here were the ones who couldn't change their forms to match humans, so they could hide amongst the people in cities and towns. So a lot of the demons here were very likely to be big, dumb, and strong.
At times like this he was glad he'd brought his kendo sword along... but that was probably still inside the plane wreck beside Kagome. Maybe he should ask her to bring it down with her... but then again he didn't want another bruised ear.
He glanced up to see if she was down yet... nope. And someone seemed to be missing from the group. It took a moment for him to place who it was...
"Boo!"
"Ah!" Inuyasha started and shot to his feet to spin around on Kikyo. "Jesus..."
"I thought you were half a demon, Inuyasha." She said without a smile.
"Yeah well... I was thinking... and you were downwind." And unusually stealthy... he didn't like people who could sneak. It put him on edge - like right now. "Did you want something?"
"Mm... no..." Kikyo stepped a little closer, over the log. Inuyasha restrained himself from stepping backwards... his brother had always told him never to back down from anyone, especially not sneaky women. "Maybe I came to tell you something, seeing as we have a chance to talk... alone..."
Inuyasha glanced around. Yep, they were alone as alone could be while being with a lot of people in the middle of nowhere. "What about?"
Kikyo allowed herself to smile. "I saw what you did... how you... mysteriously disappeared only a few minutes before the engine blew... and quite calmly said 'we're crashing' when the brat got erratic."
He didn't like where this was heading. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that YOU were the one who sabotaged the flight... you wanted one of us to die... I'm guessing that would be Kagome." Kikyo's smiled didn't waver, but she wasn't smiling evilly.
"You're one of these people who just get so bored with life, aren't you? So you just start making up your own little side stories." He shook his head and smirked at her. "Sorry to disappoint but I'm more human than demon."
"It's ok. You only meant to blow one engine." She smiled wider, edging on evil now. "I blew the other one for you."
Inuyasha stopped dead. "You did what?"
"I know I risked other peoples lives..." she looked towards the rest of the group who were busy trying to pry the chair off Kagome's foot. "One of us has to do her in... she can't be allowed to live with her kind of power."
"You're crazy. Kagome doesn't have any power - she doesn't even want to kill demons!" Inuyasha snapped. Though he had to wonder why he was defending her. He hoped it was because he was trying to hide his own guilt. Kikyo could just be trying to trick him.
"What would you know? You've known her for the good part of a week - I've known her since we were six and her father spotted me walking down the street. He just HAD to hire me as a decoy for his little princess." Kikyo's eyes hardened as she watched Kagome. "Don't let her fool you... she's not as innocent as she puts out to be."
"Oh yeah?"
"She has power... she WILL have power..." she glanced back at Inuyasha. "She can't be allowed to live."
Inuyasha scowled at her a moment before turning his back on her and starting towards the plane wreck. He'd have to keep his eye on Kikyo. She wasn't a nice person after all, and he didn't want to have to join ranks with her. This was his own singular mission... and Kikyo was human. He didn't need or want her...
Or maybe he just didn't want to see her hurt Kagome.
He forced a mental laugh at his own joke... that he didn't find very funny... and it just got him more worried.
He heard Kagome's voice as he approached.
"Just cut it off! Please! Don't leave me here!"
The plane was starting to unbalance and a few of the vines were falling and severing here and there. It was going to fall and crush them all at any moment. No wonder Kagome was being explicit about them removing her foot.
"We don't have the equipment." Miroku told her, while Cadets Shippo and Rin supported her weight. He was heaving, trying to get the seat in front of her to move, but he was only causing her more pain, and the movement kept jarring her shoulder.
"It's alright, I have the equipment to do it." Inuyasha announced as he arrived underneath the fiasco.
Miroku looked uncertain. "I'm not sure she knows what she's saying."
"Yes I do! CUT MY FOOT OFF!" Kagome squirmed, here eyes tightly shut in pain. "I don't want to die!"
"Just get down, I'll cut her loose." Inuyasha told them.
"Not him..." Kagome groaned. "Anyone but him..."
Miroku and his group dropped down from the wreck and gestured him to go on. Kagome was silently pleading with her god and breathing deeply to prepare herself.
Inuyasha leapt up in one go and grabbed the upside down headrests to haul himself towards Kagome, the plane trembled and shook as he moved, jerking Kagome a little more who whimpered. He reached her side and clearly saw that little rivulets of blood were trickling from her foot towards her knee. He had to wonder if her foot wasn't crushed altogether. He literally had to swallow his guilt.
"You still alive?" he asked as he held on tightly to a metal barrack with one hand and reached up to examine the jam.
"No, I'm dead and you're talking to my corpse." Kagome said through clenched teeth.
"I thought so." He steadied himself. "Ok, this might hurt when I cut... ok?"
"I don't care - just do anything you have to do to get me loose!" Kagome was fitfully shaking her head from side to side.
"Ok... don't say I didn't warn you."
"Wait!" Kagome looked up. "Let's do this on the count of three..."
"Ok..."
Below the onlookers turned away, not really wanting to witness Inuyasha cut her foot off.
"Ok..." Kagome breathed in and prepared to tense. "One-"
Inuyasha suddenly ripped the entire front seat out that was pinning down her foot and threw it to the forest floor, making the audience scatter. Kagome screamed in pain and didn't dare move her injured limb.
But Inuyasha was ruthless as he sliced her belt off and grabbed her around the waist as she began to fall. Kagome had to bite her lip to stop from screaming, only causing it to bleed.
With that done, Inuyasha dropped to the ground and quickly carried Kagome a short distance from the wreck before lying her on the floor. "You still alive now?"
Kagome was stiff with pain until her eyes snapped open and fixed on him. She still had enough strength to give him a sound cuff around the ear with her good arm. "You GIT! I SAID ON THE COUNT OF THREE!!"
"If I'd done that you would have tense and it would have been more painful!" Inuyasha growled back, defending himself.
"That hurt!" she gave him another cuff, but he ducked the second time. "I'll kill you!"
"At least I didn't cut your foot off! Be thankful, you ungrateful bitch!" he snapped at her.
Kagome quieted. "Ok... yeah... thanks... I guess..."
"Jeez, don't force it." He eyed her twisted arm and frowned. "You want me to fix that?"
"I can do it myself." She said snippily, still unable to move.
"You won't be strong enough." Inuyasha offered. "I can do it fast."
Kagome was silent as she considered this for a moment. "Fine..." she finally gave in.
Without much warning again he simply smacked her upper arm against the shoulder joint and heard it pop. For a moment Kagome said nothing... until her incredible scream sent a flock of nearby crows into flight.
A little while later, Inuyasha was distinctly avoiding the peeved Kagome, especially since he discovered she could deliver fairly smarting slaps.
He was sitting on the log, watching everyone else organise themselves by fetching packs and supplies from the plane wreck and dealing with the three dead men. After a while the remains of the plane creaked and tumbled to the floor upside down, and surely would have completely crushed Kagome had she still been inside.
Once again Kikyo passed him and paused a moment to speak. "Anyone would have thought you were deliberately trying to make it more painful for her..."
He glared at her retreating back and turned his gaze back to the others. Kagome was having her foot bandaged and already had her arm in a sling while Miroku dealt with his own hand.
It made Inuyasha feel slightly guilty that he was the cause... but he couldn't bring himself to help. In every respect her should sabotage their supplies and leave them to die... but he knew that he wouldn't get round to doing it.
With a groan he rubbed his hands over his eyes. What a predicament he'd worked himself into. now he had to find a way to work himself out of this big pit he'd dug.
(A/N: Next Chapter - 'Peer Pressure'.)